All for a good cause

We'll get this out of the way to begin with: the message behind Rhino Raid is a noble one, and should be championed to the high heavens.

If you aren't aware of the message, let me boil it down for you...

'Don't kill rhinos, because rhinos are cool.'

If you agree with that statement vehemently enough, you should definitely buy this game. By doing so, you will be donating cash to the WWF.

But separate the game from the message and you're left with a slightly underwhelming but ultimately entertaining auto-runner in which you butt a lot of poachers in an attempt to reunite two anthropomorphic rhino sweethearts.

Smash and grab

You control the sprinting bull rhino though a series of swipes. Swiping down results in a skid, swiping up results in a jump, and swiping right results in a goring charge. It's your job to catch up with the poachers who've stolen your lady love and give them a horn-based battering.

There are traps to leap over, barbed wire to slide under, and all manner of dastardly rustlers to stomp to death beneath your mighty rhino feet. By grabbing a Horn Bill, you gain an extra life. Oh, and there's a marks-out-of-three rating system on each of the levels.

Content is a little thin on the ground (plains?) here, to be honest, with Flint Sky offering just nine levels and three boss levels. Furthermore, the controls and collision detection are sometimes slightly off. The boss battles, by the way, involve your charging at a truck while bad guys hurl things at you. Rinse and repeat.

At least the presentation is top notch, with great chunky graphics and the story relayed to you via a series of neat comic book panels. There are plenty of rhino facts and figures dropped in, too, just to make sure you know why you're running.

Rhino going back

If you ignore the educational angle, Rhino Raid is somewhat lacking, though this is a game designed to hammer its message home as hard and directly as possible. Flint Sky isn't subtle in its outrage, and that's to the studio's credit.

If you're looking for a worthwhile cause to back, or a game that will teach your kids something, then you ought to make a charge for Rhino Raid on the App Store and Google Play.

If you're the sort who thinks charity, education, and fun have no place being in the same room, though, best to take your ice-cold heart elsewhere.